Spotify for iPhone gets thumbs up from Apple, subscription music with offline playlists is a go

Aug 27th 2009
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Streaming and subscription music services are a dime a dozen on iPhone, and they seem to get past Apple’s app store approval hurdles with relative ease. But Spotify was one whose fate wasn’t so clear cut, given its offline playlist function — which as the name suggests downloads songs ahead of time for you to listen to when there’s no WiFi or phone service to stream from — could very easily fall into the category of “duplication of core iPhone functionality” and get deep-sixed at the drop of a hat. Turns out that’s not the case here, as an Apple spokesperson has told paidContent UK that the app’s been given the metaphorical stamp of approval and would be hitting the store “very soon.” A premium subscription will run about £9.99 ($16.20) per month, with an option to pay annually coming at a later date. Of course, there’s a catch, as Spotify’s service is only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, the UK, France and Spain for now. The company expects to invade America sometime later this year, but that means another round of app store approvals — and with Apple’s track record on consistency, there’s no telling how that’ll turn out.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio